Pepper roti is a dish cherished by many in Trinidad and Tobago, one that always manages to tantalise taste buds as its tasty filling unravels in our mouths — an experience many try to savour.
TTT News recently visited the home of the Pepper Roti King at Blue Birds Sports and Cultural Organization in Barrackpore, where a senior member of the organisation, Gowtam Maharaj, shared the origins of what has become a culinary institution.
“This is where it all began. Where one uncle, Uncle Soogrim, said that we can take the pepper roti, and pepper roti was the scraps of the vegetables that was left at the ‘maticoor night’ when cooking was taking place, the ‘cooking night’, and you would put that into a dough and make up something, and that was a sort of special something because the persons who cook alone used to have that because it was not much; it was one, the leftovers, and they would share it maybe with a special friend here or there.”
He said the idea was later commercialised by its then President, and decades later, Blue Birds Pepper Roti remains a favourite among patrons from across the country.
The secret, he says, lies in the technique, one that they have mastered.
“What you are seeing here is one of the special techniques which cannot be copied. That is to take that big 35-pound of roti and flip it, and it is not strength. We have given it to the gym guys already, and the roti will tear.”
Along with layers of aloo and cheese, the recipe incorporates fresh seasonings and pineapple, creating the distinctive blend of flavours that has become synonymous with the Blue Birds brand.
Beyond satisfying appetites, sales of the pepper roti help fund a range of community-based initiatives, including a preschool, youth camps and religious and cultural programmes.
“One of our flagship programmes is the Ramleela. We have been doing the Ramleela for over 20 years. We have Pundit Jai, who have given us the script, the initial script, and we work together, and we have coached and trained many children, who today have become trainers also, and we are doing a very, very important step we are taking right now with the Ramleela, where we are passing on that artform to other organisations.”
From October 11th to 19th, patrons gathered at the Samuel Badree Recreation Grounds in Barrackpore to enjoy hot Blue Birds pepper roti, along with other East Indian cuisine, during Ramleela celebrations, held under the patronage of the Minister of Culture and Community Development and Moruga/Tableland MP, Michelle Benjamin.